Just when Tiger Woods seemed about to slip well behind the leaders during the first round of the Masters Tournament, he added another clip to his personal highlight reel.
It looked all too familiar.
Standing a few feet off the Augusta National Golf Club's 15th green, Woods chipped his ball onto the putting surface, slowly rolling it to the edge of the hole. After nearly coming to a stop, Woods's swoosh-emblazoned Nike Inc. ball finally fell into the cup for an eagle and a two-stroke jump.
It left Woods at even par, where he finished the round, four strokes off the lead with three days left in golf's first major tournament of the season. The world's top-ranked golfer is trying to launch a run to the first professional Grand Slam sweep.
``It was a pretty easy little pitch,'' Woods, 32, told reporters yesterday after his round. ``It was straight uphill. The ball was sitting up. I just had to carry it far enough, and it went in.''
The shot was similar to a dramatic, curling chip-in Woods manufactured on the course's 16th hole during the final round of the 2005 Masters. Woods went on to win his fourth Masters title two holes later.
Complete article